Improvement in machine-guns



I 2Sheets-Sheet 1. P. E; SCHULTZE.

Machine Gun.

No. 208,203. tented Sept. 17, 18 78.

N. PETERS. PNOTO-LITHOGHAPHER, WASHINGTON. D c.

I I 2 She etsSheet 2. F. E. SCHULTZE.

- Machine-Gun.

No. 208,203. Patented Sept. 17,1878.

Inven);0n 4% 62 M N PETERS. PHOTQ-LITMGGRAPMER, WASHINGTON. D. C.

UNITED STATES PATENT Danton FREDERICK E. SOHULTZE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.,ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF HIS RIGHT TO FRANCIS ED. MEYER, OF SAME PLACE.

IMPROVEMENT IN MACHINE-GUNS.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 208,203, datedSeptember 17, 1878; application filed December 27, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Beitknown that I, FREDERIOKE. SCHULTZE, of the city, county, and Stateof New York, have made certain new and useful Improvements in RifleBatteries; and I hereby declare the following to be a full and cleardescription of the same.

The object of this invention is to construct a new mounted rifle-batteryin such a manner as to deliver its fire either in a right line or inhorizontal radiating lines, at the pleasure of the operator. 7 Theobject of the invention is also to construct a rifle-battery formed ofseveral smallbore guns, so that the barrels of the different guns may beseparated sufficiently apart to prevent the barrels from becoming heatedduring the firing, and the different barrels will be firedsuocessivelyinstead of simultaneously, thereby greatly aiding in keepingthem cool. A shield in front of the gunners will protect them from theenemys fire, and the two men required to work the battery can, thusprotected, easily discharge twenty thousand shots per hour from abattery of twenty-one guns, which is probably about the best number toplace in one battery. These guns may be discharged continuously in onefixed direction, or they may be moved slowly and irregularly from sideto side by the manipulation of the gunners without moving the carriage,or the machine may be so coupled up and arranged as to move the gunslaterally from side to side in a vibrating movement automatically at thedischarge of each individual gun, thus sweeping by direct and rakingshots the whole range of the field in front of the guns.

The details and nature of the invention will be readily understood bythe accompanying 4 or magazine, showing the arrangement for sliding thesame up and down. Fig. 7 is an elevation of the eccentric-plate andeccentric, which is used to produce a continuous lateral movementof theguns during the firing operation.

The guns A will preferably be rifles of, say, sixty to eighty hundrethscaliber, and, say, twenty one of them (more or less) will be fixed in aframe, B B, so that their axial lines will all be in the same plane. Theframe in which these guns are to be fixed will consist of side beams Band transverse beams B all of which should be made of wrought metal andthoroughly framed and fastened together. The transverse beams B will bemortised for the guns A, which will pass through them, and the guns willthus be held firmly in place, and they will be fixed in the beams B sothat there will 'be a distance of, say, one-eighth to one-quarter of aninch (more or less) intervening between two adjacent barrels, for thepurpose of permitting air to circulate between the guns, and therebykeep them cool during action.

The breech of each barrel terminates in a rectangular block a, as shownbest in Figs. 4 and 5, and when the barrels are assembled together inthe frame B B these blocks will rest behind and hold against therearmostbeam B. Vertical rabbets will be made in thesides of each of theblocks a, so as to form vertical projections a extending a shortdistance behind the rest of the block a, as shown in Fig. 5. The widthof each of the projections a will be about equal to the bore of thebarrel, so that when the metallic cartridges, which are to be used inthis battery, are inserted in the bore of the gun, the flan go of thecartridge, at its base, will project outward on both sides of the parta.

When the several barrels A are assembled together in the battery therabbets in the blocks a, as above described, will form vertical groovesa between each of two adjacent barrels, as shown in Fig. 5. The outerside of each outside gun of the series will, however, have only one-halfof the groove a The depth of the grooves (b will be equal to about twicethe thickness of the flange or fulminate base of the cartridge, so thatwere a cartridge inserted in the bore of any one of the barrels itsflange or base would project into the open groove a above described. Therest of the base of the block a is grooved or rabbeted out, as shown inFig. 4, so as to allow the cartridge to set in the bore with its baseflush with the rear end of block a.

The magazine 0 has trunnions c on its ends, which rest in seats preparedtherefor in the fixed standards B which are attached to the frame-piecesB. The seats for the trunnions 0 must be so constructed that themagazine can be easily seated in or removed therefrom by two men, one ateither end of the case. The magazine 0 will be subdivided by thepartitions 0, which are fixed to its back into as many compartments, 0as there are guns in the battery, and these compartments will standvertically over each of the guns to which they respectively belong. Therear side, 0 of the magazine-box will be constructed so as to slidevertically ingrooves 0 at the ends of the box, and will be provided withslots 0 as shown in Fig. 6, through which said slots holds or studs cwill be fixed to one or more of the partitions c, as may be required tohold the back securely to the magazine-box, while at the same timepermitting a free vertical play of one or two inches, (more orless,) asmay be required to facilitate the withdrawal of the shot orcartridgesfrom the bottom part of the magazine, as will be presently explained.The bottom edge of the side a will be scalloped out in the rear of eachcompartment 0 as is shown in Fig. 6, so as to permit the withdrawal ofthe cartridges without the necessity of raising the said side 0 up morethan a short distance.

The gmrframe B B is mounted on a carriage, D D, by means of which theposition, range, elevation, 830., of the battery may be regulated andadjusted at will. A turn-table, d d, is interposed between the part ofthe carriage I) which is fixed to the gun-frame and the sub-frame D, towhich said carriageframes the said turn-table plates are respectivelysecured. A central pivot, X, attached to one of the turn-table plates,and having its bearing in the other, forms a pivot on which the batteryis turned around in any horizontal direction required.

A cogged wheel, 0, (shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3,) is arranged togear into a cogged rack on the turn-table plate d, and turn it aroundwith its battery, as desired, to any point within the field of itsrange, which movement laterally will be embraced within an angle ofninety degrees, (more or less.) The wheel 0 is placed upon and actuatedby the shaft E, which has its bearings in or se cured to the carriage D.The shaft E is to be turned as desired by the crank e, which is placedjust to the rear of and below the b1 eech of the guns, so as to bewithin easy reach of the gunners by whom it is to be manipulated. Thesub-carriage I) rests upon a transverse sill-piece, D the ends of whichform trunnions (1 that rest in the sockets d, and so form an adjustablebearing for the guncarriage D D and the superimposed guns, by whichconstruction the range of the guns may be elevated or depressed atpleasure.

The sockets d are fixed to a transverse subsill, F, which forms in thecase of a field-battery the axle, which has its bearings in thesupporting-wheels G. It is only in naval or fixed positions that thepiece F becomes a subsill. The trail-pieces H are also fixed to thesub-sill or axle F, as the case may be. The elevatin g-screw I has itsnut fixed in a transverse piece of the frame-work of the trail, and thesaid elevating-screw is operated by the hand-wheel 1 which is placedbelow the breech of the guns and within easy reach of the gunners.against the bottom part of the carriage D, and by turning the screw Ithe range of the guns may be elevated or depressed in the usual manner,the carriage during its vertical adjustment moving easily on its bearingtrunnions d. The rear ends of the trail-pieces II have jointedattachment pieces H, by which the adjustment of the trail may be morereadily accommodated to circumstances of position.

When this battery is fitted up for field use, it will be provided with alimber constructed in much the same manner as the limber for ordinaryfield artillery, and it will be supported on the wheels G, have a pole,J, for the attachment of the horses, and an ammunition-chest, O, whichwill be constructed so as to accommodate a number of the magazinecases(3, each of which is to be filled with cartridges before going intoaction. WVhen one magazine-case has become exhausted it is to be removedfrom its standards B and returned to the chest 0, and a full case takenfrom the limber and put in position ready for use in the standards B Acoupling-plate, K, fixed to the gun-car riage is to be coupled, by meansof the pin 7:, to the coupling-plate K fixed to the limber when thebattery is to be limbered up and thereby moved.

The operating or loading and firing mechanism of this battery is mountedon or attached to the rear ends of the gun-frame B B, and consists,principally, of a follower-frame, L, with its inclosed spring-hammers Mand the attached cartridge-fingers N. The followerframe L is arranged toslide forward and backward in suitable ways or bearings formed in theside beams B or attached to them. This follower-frame is moved up to oraway from the breeches of the guns by means of the cogged wheels I andthe cogged racks Z, there being three or four (more or less) of the saidwheels and racks, according to the width of the battery, which willcoincide with the length of the said frame L. The wheels l are fixed tothe shaft L, which has its bearings in the frame-pieces The top end ofthe elevatingscrew rests.

B, and the said shaft is rotated by means of the bevel gear wheels b 0,and the latter wheel is turned by the hand crank 0, so that by turningthe said crank the aforesaid follower and its attachments will be movedup to or away from the ends of the guns, as described. Thecartridge-fingers N consist of L- shaped pieces of metal, fastened tothe front edge of the follower-frame L, with the attached sides of thesaid fingers fixed vertically to the said follower-frame, and the otherarm of the piece N projecting horizontally to the front. The horizontalpart of the piece N is wedge-shaped both in plane and elevation, asshown clearly in Figs. 4 and 5. At the rear or attached sides of thepieces N there are vertical rabbets or notches a, which extend the wholelength of the said pieces, and form, in connection with the front edgeof the followerframe, grooves of a size sufficiently large to allow thebase or flange of the cartridges to slide easily down through them. Thebody of the vertical part of the pieceN is of just sufficient width tofill the space between two adjacent cartridges as they are drawn fromthe magazine, and when the follower is pushed up close to the breech ofthe guns, as it must be at the time of firing, the vertical arm a of thefinger-piece will enter the vertical groove 0. immediately in front ofit, as shown by the position of the parts in Fig. 5. At the same timethe part a is pressed into the groove ed,

as above described, the horizontal part a of the said cartridge fingerwill pass into the lower part of the magazine-case, just between thebottom of the said case and the bottom side of the lowest cartridge inthe magazine.

From the foregoing description it is apparent that the positions of theseveral fingers N at the time they are in the bottom part of themagazine-box will be not directly below the several tiers of cartridges,but between them, and as the said fin ger-pieces N are pushed into thebox under the side piece 0 the pointed front end and top slope of thearms a enable the said finger-pieces to be easily pushed forward by thefollower, so as to raise the side piece 0 and at the same time to slideeasily in under the cartridges until, at the limit of the stroke, theflanges at the base of the cartridges will drop into the grooves 12, andthereby be held fast between the said fingers, which fingers will thendraw the engaged cartridges rearward out of the magazine under itssliding rear side 0 the sliding side being meanwhile held upsufficiently high by the arms a (on which for the time being it rests)for the engaged cartridges, but none others, to pass out of themagazine. The two end fingers of the series have heel-pieces n extendingfar enough back of the outside of piece 0 to hold the said piece 0 up inposition at the time of the completed forward movement of the follower,at which time all of the bodies of the pieces N will have passed beyondthe inside line of the sliding side 0 which would then be at liberty todrop down and stop the operation of the battery but for the heel-piecesa which for the time being hold up the said slide.

The follower and its attachments having been. pushed forward far enoughfor a set of cartridges to be caught in between the fingers N, as abovedescribed, will then be withdrawn by turning the crank O, the pawl Pmeanwhile being held up off the ratchet-wheel P, so as to allow thereverse movement of the follower. When the follower shall have beenmoved back to the limit of its stroke, the cartridges which have beendrawn by the movement out of the magazine will be found to be directlybelow a set of rammers, Q, one rammer to each cartridge. These rammersare fixed to the bottom side of a transverse bar, Q, which is fittedinto and moves in vertical slots in the standard-guides B, which areattached to the side pieces B.

The rammer-bar Q extends far enough outside of the guide-pieces B to beengaged by the compression-springs g, which habitually hold therammer-bar with its rammers up to the upward limit of its stroke, sothat the cartridges may be drawn under them.

A lever, B, fulcrumed at r to a lug projecting from and attached to thecross-bar B carries on its under side a sheave or roller. 1", which isarranged to travel on a horizontallyprojecting bar, Q which is fixed tothe bar Q.

When the lever It is pressed down, the sheave or roller 7" will actagainst bar Q and thereby the rammers will be pressed down on thecartridges which are held between the fingers N, and the cartridges willbe pressed down by the movement, so that their front ends will rest onthe stop-bar S, directly in the lines of the prolongations of the boresof the barrels A. The follower L will then be moved forward again byturning the crank O, as before, and the cartridges which have beenplaced behind the gun-barrels by the-previous movements, as abovedescribed, will then be forced home into the barrels, and held there bythe pressure of the follower, which will actas a breech-block during thefiring of the charge, the pressure of the follower against thecartridges being maintained during this part of the operation by theaction of the pawl P engaging in the ratchet P, the said ratchetwheel'being fixed upon the shaft 0, which carries the gear-wheel 0 and theactuatingcrank 0.

After the cartridges shall have been dis charged by the means presentlyto be described, the follower L will be again withdrawn by turning thecrank O, and at this retreat it will draw with it the old shells of theexploded cartridges, which have all the time been held by theirbase-flanges in the grooves 02; and also at the same time and movement anew set of cartridges will be drawn out of the magazine, in the samemanner as has before been described.

When the rammers are next used to press down a set of cartridges to thestop-blocksS,

they will force the old shells below them out at the bottoms of thegrooves n, and so discharge them out of the way of future operations;and so on, the alternate forward and backward movement of the follower Lwill draw the cartridges out of the magazine, push them into the guns,and then draw the spent shells out of the guns, the rannners Q beingused, as described, to press the cartridges down to the stop S, andthen, also, the old shells out of the way.

When the new cartridges are pressed down to the stop S, only the leadenbullet at the front end of the cartridge will rest upon the seat orstop, thus leaving plenty of clear room at the rear of the said stop forthe ease of the spent cartridge to be moved down and out of the way.

In place of a single sheave or roller, 1', the lever B may be fixed to arock-shaft, which may carry several rollers or sheaves, acting againstas many rails on the rammer-bar, so as to avoid a springing of the partsand a consequent unequal placing of the cartridges preparatory tosliding them into the gun-barrels. The top plate l of the follower isallowed a slight vertical motion at its front edge, and has trunnions onits ends, near the said front edge, which move in the sloping slots ofthe guides 1 so as to raise the said front edge of the plate 6 up tonear the center of the bottom tier of cartridges in the magazine, sothat the edge of the plate l may form an abutment, against which thecartridges may rest at the time they are drawn from the magazine.

The top plate I is L-shaped, as shown in Fig. 4, the back edge of itturning downward from its horizontal part and forming the rear side ofthe follower-frame. A pin, m, passes through the heels of thehammer-piece behind the vertical part of the plate l and when the frontedge of the said plate Z is raised up, as above described, the rear endor vertical part of it will exert a leverage against the pin m andthereby move it with the hammer backward when the hammers are not cookedand the follower is thrown forward, and by this movement the needle mwill be moved back out of the way of the cartridges just as well as ifthe hammers were held back by the shootin g-bar T.

Small elliptical springs n are fixed to the front edge of thefollower-frame between each pair of fingers N, and arranged to presslightly against the cartridges while they are in the grooves n, so as tohold the cartridges against accidental slipping out at the bottoms ofthe grooves.

The sliding follower-frame willalso carry a set of spring-hammers, M, asmany hammers as there are gun-barrels, and one of them placed directlybehind and in the prolongation of the bore of each of the gun-barrels.The front end or head of each of these hammers will carry aneedle-point, m, which will pass through an aperture in the front plateof the follower, beyond which it. will extend a sufficient distance tostrike into the fulminate of the cartridge when the follower is pressedup tightly to the cartridge in the gun-barrel.

A spring, m coiled around the hammershaft within its seat in L willhabitually throw the hammers forward. The rear end of the hammer rod orshaft will extend a short distance behind the follower-frame, andterminate in a projecting tail-piece, m, the top edge of which willextend above the top edge or side of the follower-frame, so as to beengaged by the cocking-stud t, which projects from the bottom edge ofthe shooting-bar T. As both ends of the hammer-piece are larger than thecentral shaft around which the spiral spring m is coiled, it will benecessary to drill some holes m through the part m so that the springmay be turned through the said holes, and so screwed to its position onthe piece M. In lieu of this arrangement, however, one of the ends ofthe hammer-piece may be screwed on to the shaft part, and then the endIlXOtCd down, so as to hold the parts firmly together. The shooting-barT rests upon the top side of the. transverse rest-plate U, the ends ofwhich are fixed to the side plates B. There are as many of thecocking-studs t upon the bottom side of the said shooting-bar as thereare hammers M-one stud to each hammer. The plate U is slotted below thebar T, so as to permit the studst to extend through the said plate U andfar enough below it to engage the projections m of the hammers.

When thefollower-frame is moved backward to the limit of its motion, theshooting-bar T will be moved across its bed, so that each of the hammerswill be caught behind its respective stud t, and the whole of the gunsof the battery will thereby be cooked, and remain so, when thefollower-frame is moved up to the breeehes of the guns. ing-bar is movedsidewise across the machine, the studs 23 will be disengaged from thehammer-heels m and the moment the hammer is thus released its springwill throw it violently forward, and the needle m will strike into thecartridge, and the charge will thereby be fired in the usual way ofpercussion-cartridges.

The hammer-heels on, the cocking-studs t, and the bar T are soconstructed and arranged that the pieces M will not all be releasedsimultaneously, but successively, from left to right, so that the guns Awill be fired in succession, and thereby be kept cool during action.This is accomplished by making the parts m and t of unequal widths, orthe spaces between one or the other of the parts m or t of unequalwidths, and arranging the studs t upon the bar T in such positions as toproduce the desired result. The bar T is moved so as to cock the hammersby means of the knob t, which may be seized by the gunner, and thenpushed to one side, as required. The bar T will be moved so as todisengage the hammers, and fire the pieces by means of the graduatedlever V,'the pawl 11, bar V, and the crank W. The graduated lever V isfulcrumed to the Then, when the shoot-- plate U by means of thepivot-screw o, and passes thence through a slot in the bar T, as shownin Fig. 2. The lever V lies flat upon the plate U, and its free end isconsiderably wider than its fulcrumed end, and is provided on its topface with a graduated toothed rack,

4?, which rack is segmental in plan, the segment being described fromthe pivot-screw 'v'. A pawl, 11, is pivoted to the end of the slidingbar V, as shown in Figs. 2 and 3, and when the said bar is to be movedback to cock the hammers this pawl will be raised up off of its rack, asshown by the dotted lines in Fig. 3. The cogs or teeth on the rack c areto be just as numerous as the barrels to be discharged, and thearrangements of the parts are to be such that the pawl will move therack 02 and the bar T just far enough at one motion to disengage one ofthe hammers M, and then fall back into the next notch in the rack v andmove it forward, and so on, until all the hammers shall have beenreleased and all the pieces fired. The rod or bar V and its pawl '12 areto be operated by the turning of the crank W, (in the manner presentlyexplained,)

. and the adjustment of the parts, each to the other, is such that forevery revolution of the crank W one gun will be discharged. The crank Wis placed upon the shaft W which has its hearings in the blocks w, whichare attached to the side of the beams B. The shaft W has an eccentric, Was shown in Fig. 7, which said eccentric moves in and actuates theeccentric bar W The eccentric bar is fulcrumed by its side lug w to theframe B, and the top end of the said bar W is coupled by the pin w withthe outer end of the bar V, so that by turning the crank W the eccentricW will move the bar W and with the top end of it the attached bar V justsufficiently to move the pawl o and rack 12 the required distance todischarge one barrel, in the manner clearly described. The rod W iscoupled by a pivot-pin to the bottom end of the eccentric-plate W andthe other or free end of the said rod passes through a slot in the topend of the post W which said-post is erected upon the trail H. Aset-screw, w, in the said post may be screwed up against the -rod W, andthe rod will thereby be held securely in place in the post W or when thescrew is left loose the rod W will be free to slide through its slottedbearing in the post. When the screw is tightened uponv the rod, so as tohold it fast, the rod will hold the bottom end of the eccentric-plate Wand the said eccentric-plate will then be held fixed at two points bythe lug w and by the rod W and by turning the crank W, the shaft W being confined within its bearin gs in the blocks 10, which are attached tothe frame B, the said frame and with it the guns A will be given aslight vibrating movement in a lateral direction, and this movement willbe continued at eachrevolution of the crank WV, and thus the guns willbe made to deliver a raking fire, changing from side to side at thedischarge the fire from the guns will be of the utmostimportance whenshooting at a moving enemy, as in Indian warfare, or against cavalry.

When it is desired to shoot straight ahead without the spreading firethe screw 10 will be left loose, when the crank W will only work theshooting-bar T; otherwise, by turning the crank W, when the screw 10 istightened, the simple movement of the said crank W will simultaneously,and by the one movement, discharge the guns, and also move themlaterally, so as to spread their fire.

The gunners can easily aim the battery by means of the sights Y and Y,which are attached to the sides of the frame B.

A shield, Z, of sheet metal is placed slopingl y over the guns-lower infront and higher at the rear, as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, so as to shieldthe gunners from the enemys fire. The shield will be supported byattachments resting 011 the frame B.

Having described my invention, I claim 1. The follower L, with itsattachments N, constructed and arranged as described, so as to draw thecartridges from the magazine, place them in position in the breech ofthe gun, and then, after the discharge of the cartridges, to withdrawtheir spent cases from the guns and throw them away, substantially asand for the purpose set forth.

2. The spring-hammers M, seated in sliding ways Within thefollower-frameL, and provided with heel-pieces W, in combination withthe cocking-studs t of the shooting-bar T, so as to fire the guns Asuccessively, one at a time, substantially as described and set forth.

3. The L-shaped fingers N, each having a verticalleg, a, and a taperingor wedge-shaped horizontal arm, M, with a rabbet,a,in the back cornersof the vertical leg, arranged so as to form, in connection with thefollower-frame L, vertical grooves for catching and holding thecartridges while they are drawn out of the magazine and placed in thegun-barrels and the spent cases withdrawn therefrom, substantially asdescribed and set forth.

4. The follower L, the holding-fingers N, and the retainingsprings a,combined and arranged as and for the purpose set forth.

5. The guns A and their carriages B B, mounted on a central pivot, X,and the firing mechanism T and V, connected with the crank W and withthe gun-carriage by means of the rod W and the post WV", the wholecombined and arranged so as to vibrate the guns laterally by the turningof the said crank, substantially as and for the purpose set forth.

6. The shooting-bar T, provided with cockingstuds t of unequal widths,or placed at unequal distances apart, so as to hold the hammers M insuch a manner as to disengage them in succession, as and for the purposeset forth.

7. The lever V, with its graduated rack,the pawl r, the connecting-barV, the eccentricplate NV, and the crank W, combined and an rangedtogether and with shooting-bar T, so as to move the said shooting-barthe required distance to fire one gun atatime and the whole battery insuccession by the continuous revolutions of the crank, as and for thepurpose set forth.

8. The eccentric-plate W? pivoted to the frame B by the lug w, andadjustably attached to the relatively-fixed post W by the rod W, thesaid eccentric-plate W beingactuated by the eccentric shaft W which issupported in bearings 10 fixed to the frame B, so as to move only thebar V, which is attached to the plate W when the rod W is left loose inthe said post W or arranged to move both the bar V and the frame B whenthe rod Vi is fixed to the post W substantially as described and setforth.

9. The crank W, its eccentric-shaft W, the eccentric-plate W with itsfixing-rod W and the post W combined and arranged as and for the purposeset forth.

10. The follower-frame L, with its plate 15 provided with trunnionsarranged to move in sloping slots in guide If, as and for the purposeset forth.

11. The magazine 0, divided into vertical compartments by means of thepartitions c, and having its rear side 0 arranged to slide vertically inits ways 0 and on the guide 0 as and for the purpose set forth.

FREDERICK E. SCHULTZE.

Witnesses:

M. RANDOLPH, J. B. THURSTON.

